Method and system of asset identification and tracking for enterprise asset management

ABSTRACT

A system and method for managing enterprise assets located at geographically distributed sites utilizing wireless tag technologies. The method includes storing in a database information relating to each asset, wherein the stored information includes cost of each asset and cost of service for each asset. The method further includes tracking and storing information relating to servicing of the assets, including the cost of servicing. Information relating to the assets is then displayed to a user of the system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/431,147, filed May 9, 2006, which issued U.S. Pat. No.7,474,218 on Jan. 6, 2009, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/768,957, filed Jan. 30, 2004, whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,062,389 on Jun. 13, 2006, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/444,091, filedJan. 31, 2003, and which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/883,779, filed Jun. 18, 2001, which issued asU.S. Pat. No. 7,496,532, on Feb. 24, 2009, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/212,234, filed Jun. 16, 2000and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/288,827, filed May 5,2001, the contents of which are each incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/431,147, filed May9, 2006, is also a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/429,619, filed May 5, 2003, which issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,512,523 on Mar. 31, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/432,120, filed Dec. 9, 2002; and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/431,147 is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/734,725, filed Dec. 12, 2003, now abandoned,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/433,179, filed Dec. 13, 2002; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/431,147 is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/771,090, filed Feb. 3, 2004, now abandoned, which claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/444,437, filed Feb. 3,2003; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/431,147 is aContinuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/922,364,filed Aug. 20, 2004, now abandoned, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/496,432, filed Aug. 20, 2003, thecontents of which are each incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method and system for managing enterpriseassets. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and systemfor the comprehensive management of enterprise assets dispersed over aplurality of distributed sites utilizing wireless tag technology.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is frequently useful to track the disposition of enterprise assetsand further monitor and manage various aspects of those assets. Forexample, it is useful to track the total cost of asset ownership foraccounting purposes and for making future purchasing decisions. However,tracking specific assets and asset characteristics in a large,distributed environment (an enterprise that has many facilities atdiffering locations, as well as one or more central headquarters) can bea difficult task.

A large retail store chain, for instance, may wish to determine thetotal cost of ownership for each cash register it owns. A highlydistributed retail chain may have tens of thousands of cash registers,and in order to calculate a reasonably accurate determination of thetotal cost of ownership the retail chain must accurately track all thecosts that are incurred for each cash register. The purchase price of anasset, repair costs, and maintenance costs are the main components ofthe total cost of ownership and so these costs need to be tracked, insome instances other factors such as energy costs may also need to befactored into the calculation.

However, tracking costs incurred in repairing and maintaining theseassets can be an onerous task. In a typical procedure to service assets,a store manager first calls a service provider to perform a task on anasset. The service provider performs the task required, seeks approvalfor the work, and then fills out work order papers in triplicate. Thework order papers are typically distributed (one copy each) to theenterprise headquarters, the store, and the service provider. Theservice provider then creates an invoice and sends it to the enterpriseheadquarters. If the accounts payable department of the enterpriseheadquarters can locate the work order papers, the invoice may beentered into the system and paid. If the work order papers cannot befound, the invoice may be sent to the store manager for approval,returned to the enterprise headquarters after approval, and then enteredinto the accounts payable system.

Tracking part and labor costs and any other asset characteristics inhighly distributed enterprises thus becomes very difficult using theexisting process described above. Matching paperwork with assets maybecome exceedingly difficult due to the sheer volume of assets and thelarge amounts of paperwork generated in servicing and maintaining theassets.

Another potential problem with the process described above is thatservice providers may be able to overbill for service calls or partswithout full knowledge by the enterprise of the nature of the servicecall. The lack of overview on a regional or national level may preventan enterprise from determining if the costs incurred by distributedsites for an asset is reasonable.

Because it is time consuming and expensive to collect paper work fromnumerous sources to even have the capability of accurately calculatingthe total cost of ownership for an asset, the cost of ownership of manyassets is frequently a guess that may vary greatly from the actual costof ownership. Thus, enterprises frequently determine the cost ofownership for an asset to be the purchase price of the asset, which istypically considerably less than the actual cost of ownership. Moreover,in a highly distributed environment, there are many assets to manage,and current systems do not provide feasible and efficient methods andsystems for managing such assets. In particular, current systems do notprovide for an efficient manner to determine the costs of servicing andmaintaining assets or the total cost of ownership of an asset.

There is a need in the art for a method and system for managingenterprise assets over numerous distributed sites that is user friendly,cost and time efficient, and that may be used to accurately generate thecost of ownership for one or more assets of an enterprise. A need alsoexists for a common platform that may be used to set up informationsystems and gather accounting information for managing these assetsincluding total cost of ownership accounting.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in one embodiment, is a system for managing aplurality of assets of a plurality of distributed enterprises andallowing a user to access asset information. The system includes acentral processor, a database, a tag reader in communication with thecentral processor, and an asset tag. The database is a database forstoring asset information for the plurality of assets of the pluralityof enterprises and is in communication with the central processor. Theasset information includes information relating to ownership,maintenance and repair of the plurality of assets. An asset tag isassociated with each of the plurality of assets and includes specificinformation regarding the asset to which it is associated. Further, thetag is configured to communicate with the tag reader. The centralprocessor tracks information relevant to managing each of the pluralityof assets.

The present invention, in another embodiment, is a system for collectinginformation relating to equipment located at a site. The system includesa first database, a server, and a tag reader. The first databaseincludes legacy data relating to at least a portion of the equipment.The server includes software for importing the legacy data into aspecified data structure and for exporting the specified data structureand a survey process. The tag reader is for receiving the specified datastructure and the survey process and for guiding a user in collectingthe information and further is configured to receive information fromindividual equipment tags. The specified data structure includes a setof equipment categories and a set of attributes relating to eachcategory.

In another embodiment, the present invention is a method of trackingservice of an asset in a highly distributed enterprise. The methodincludes providing at least one server computer in communication with acomputer network and a database operably coupled with the servercomputer. The database contains asset information and service providerinformation. The method further includes receiving a service request atthe server computer for an asset and automatically selecting anappropriate service provider based on the asset to be serviced. Inaddition, the method includes generating an electronic message to theappropriate service provider requesting service, whereby a servicetechnician is scheduled to provide service. The service technician hasan identification tag associated with the service technician. Further,the method includes tracking a location of the identification tag of theservice technician with a tag reader.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of thepresent invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description, which shows and describesillustrative embodiments of the invention. As will be realized, theinvention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, allwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the various components of theenterprise asset management system, according to one embodiment of thesubject invention.

FIG. 2 is flow diagram of a survey method, according to one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a service request, according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a web page for inputting a service request,according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is one embodiment of a GIS map produced by the subject invention.

FIG. 6 is an embodiment of a screen display for a kiosk.

FIGS. 7A-1 and 7A-2 are two parts of a diagram depicting exemplaryinformation collected for various types of equipment, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 7B is a diagram depicting exemplary information collected forvarious types of equipment, according to a further embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a method and system of assetidentification and tracking utilizing wireless technology. For example,according to one embodiment, assets can be identified and tracked usingradio frequency (“RF”) technology. More specifically, the presentinvention can incorporate radio frequency identification (“RFID”)technology to identify and track assets.

In one aspect of the invention, the method and system relate toproviding a wireless tag associated with an asset for purposes oftracking or managing the asset. According to one embodiment, thewireless tag can store information about the asset such as, for example,identification, location, and other information, and communicate with anasset management system to provide for tracking and management of theasset. In a further embodiment, the present invention provides awireless tag that is associated with a user of the asset and/or theasset management system such that the user's interaction with the assetor system can be simplified or tracked or otherwise managed. Thewireless tag, in one example of the present invention, is an RFID tag.

In an asset management system, according to one embodiment, all of theassets may need to be inventoried and an asset identifier created foreach asset to give it a trackable identity. In such an embodiment, thewireless tag can be used to track the identity. That is, informationabout the asset can be stored on the tag and utilized to track and/ormanage the asset. According to another embodiment in which the assetmanagement system is used to track the costs of assets and to facilitatethe servicing of assets, the wireless tag can be used to storeinformation about the asset cost and service events and can also be usedto help the service provider locate the particular asset to be serviced.

According to one embodiment, the asset identification system of thepresent invention is used with a system and method of asset managementsuch as that system disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/883,779,filed on Jun. 18, 2001 and entitled “Method and System for ManagingEnterprise Assets”, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,496,532, on Feb. 24,2009, (“'779 Application”), which is incorporated by reference herein inits entirety. That system provides for, among other things, tracking thecosts of assets and facilitating the servicing of assets, includingassets in an enterprise.

An asset management system 10 utilizing wireless tag technology isdepicted in FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment is comprised of a central processor 11located at a central location, one or more databases 13 to store assetinformation, a plurality of client processors 12 located at a pluralityof remote locations, and at least one tag reader 16 located at a remotelocation or locations. The central processor 11 allows access by theclient processor to various network resources and includes softwareprograms or instructions that run on the server-side to process requestsand responses from a client processor 12. The system 10 can also includeone or more databases 13 for storing asset information. These databases13 may be integral to the central processor 11 or they may be accessibleto the central processor through a computer network or other suitablecommunication link. In one embodiment, the system 10 also includes assetinterfaces 14 connected directly to particular assets, and one or morekiosks 15 acting as a client processor 12.

The term “asset” as used herein shall mean any physical item, includingany piece of equipment or component thereof, that may be tracked and/ormanaged for inventory, location, maintenance, or repair purposes. Forexample, the “asset” can be, but is not limited to, a computer, arefrigerator, a container such as, for example, a refrigerant container,an HVAC unit, a piece of furniture, a forklift, a vehicle, or somecomponent of any of these items.

The client processor 12 may be any computer or computer systems used bythose skilled in the art. Client processor 12 can be used to place workorders, view asset information, input asset information, change theoperational parameters of an asset, exchange data with the centralprocessors, and/or to view and manipulate asset information. Some clientprocessors 12 can be configured as kiosks 15 and located at one or moreremote sites. The kiosks are adapted for use by service providersonsite, to access the central processor 11 to view asset information orservice requests. As shown in FIG. 6, these kiosks can include apreconfigured menu which allows service providers to access the centralprocessor 11, to enter and receive information concerning work orders30, to check if a particular work order has been approved 31, and tocheck for messages 32.

In some embodiments, asset interfaces 14 are attached to assets withcommunications capabilities in order to monitor and/or control theirperformance. The asset interface 14 can be configured to communicatewith the asset and to provide a communication link between the asset anda client processor 12 or the central processor 11. Communicationtechnology, such as a cellular modem, any other wireless communicationsystem (such as Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) technology), and/ora landline communication system may be used to form a communication linkbetween the asset interface and a client processor 12 or the centralprocessor 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, a communication link exists between a clientprocessor 12 and the central processor 11. Upon specification of a linkby the user, the client processor 12 makes a TCP/IP request to thecentral processor 11 and receives information, which may be a “web page”that is formatted according to HTML which also includes links to otherpages of information. Users can also access other pages on the same orother database server by following instructions on the screen, enteringcertain data, or clicking on selected icons. In one embodiment, thesubject invention is a web-site hosted by at least one computer incommunication with the Internet. This embodiment allows the subjectinvention to be accessed through a client computer 12 by various typesof users located at geographically distributed sites. To limit access toauthorized users, in one embodiment, the subject invention allows forvarious types of users and users at various distributed sites to havedistinct levels of access.

The tag reader 16 as depicted in FIG. 1 can be any known device forcommunicating with a tag. For example, in embodiments in which the tagis an RFID tag, the reader 16 is an RFID reader 16 known in the art. Thetag reader 16 is communicatively coupled to the central processor 11 viaa communication link as shown. Alternatively, the tag reader 16 iscoupled to a client processor 12. When information is transmitted fromthe tag 17 to the tag reader 16, that information can then betransmitted to the central processor 11 for storage in a database 13 orother use. Alternatively, according to embodiments in which the assettag 17 can receive and store data and the tag reader 16 can also writeto the tag 17 (that is, the component is a tag reader/writer 16),information can be retrieved from the central processor 11 andtransmitted to the asset tag 17 by the tag reader/writer 16.

Any type of information regarding the asset can be stored on the tag.For example, the asset information can include a unique designation toidentify the asset (also referred to herein as a “unique identifier”),asset type, asset brand, asset use, asset location, and any otherinformation that it may be desirable to track. In one aspect of theinvention, the asset information can include servicing or maintenanceinformation (such as, for example, the date of the last servicing of theasset), authorizations relating to location and servicing of the asset(such as, for example, whether the asset can be moved to differentlocations and which service providers are allowed to provide service tothe asset), and any other relevant information.

In use, the subject invention can be used to track the costs of assetsand to facilitate the servicing of assets. As an initial procedure, theassets of an enterprise may be inventoried (also referred to herein as“surveyed”) and an asset identifier created for each asset to give it atrackable identity. According to one embodiment as depicted in FIG. 2,the survey method can include associating an asset tag with an asset(block 20), wherein the asset tag includes a unique identifier for theasset. In one example, the asset tag is an RFID tag. The asset tag isread by the tag reader and the information from the tag is therebyimported into the system such that the unique identifier is importedinto the system for storage and processing (block 22).

In one aspect of the invention, the surveying and importation of assetdata can be accomplished according to the methods and systems disclosedin U.S. application Ser. No. 10/771,090, filed on Feb. 3, 2004 andentitled “Site Equipment Survey Tool”, now abandoned, (“'090Application”), which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. According to one embodiment of the present invention, theassets surveyed in the '090 Application are each associated with anasset tag and the survey tool disclosed in the '090 Application is a tagreader. Typically, an enterprise will have some pre-existing legacy datarelating to equipment located at its site or various distributed sites.If present, this legacy data is reviewed to establish an appropriatedata structure for the following survey process. For example, in oneembodiment, the data is reviewed to identify exemplary equipmentcategories and subcategories for inclusion in the data structure. Thepresent invention is flexible and configurable and allows creation of avariety of data structures, as needed. Also, the information or fieldsgathered for each equipment asset are fully configurable andcustomizable. The desired fields depend on the goals and objectives ofthe enterprise. Generally, the more tasks that the enterprise would liketo perform, the more fields that are included in the data structure.

For example, if one of the goals of the enterprise is to perform energymanagement, certain information relevant to energy management isincluded in the fields specified by the data structure. FIG. 7A(depicted as FIGS. 7A-1 and 7A-2) is a diagram showing the informationcollected for various types of equipment, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. As shown in FIG. 7A, equipment may be placed intothree categories, namely building 111, HVAC 113, and refrigeration 115.The embodiment of FIG. 7A further categorizes building 111 into lighting117, building controls 119, and general usage 121. As shown, HVAC 113 isfurther categorized into compressors 123 and heat stages 125, andrefrigeration 115 is further categorized into condensers 127, racks 129,compressors 131, and circuits 133. FIG. 7A further shows several examplefields of information that may be collected for each type of equipment.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the information collected from a site,according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 7B, information may be placed into three categories, namely sitedata 135, site photos 137, and equipment data 139. The embodiment ofFIG. 7B further shows several example fields of information that may becollected for each category.

Further exemplary fields are disclosed in co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/768,957, entitled “Enterprise Energy ManagementSystem,” filed on Jan. 30, 2004, which issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,062,389, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety andclaims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/444,091,filed on Jan. 31, 2003.

According to an alternative aspect of the present invention, theinformation collected may be any known or collectable equipmentinformation or data of any kind.

Creation of a data structure further includes, where appropriate,identifying acceptable entries or attributes for a particular fieldrelating to a piece of equipment. In one embodiment, the acceptableattributes are determined by reviewing the legacy data and identifyinglikely attributes for a site or a set of sites. In another embodiment,the acceptable attributes are set using the knowledge of one skilled inthe art. The use of a set of acceptable attributes assures uniformityand consistency of the data, such that the same asset located throughouta set of distributed sites is consistently given the same name and setof descriptions. This approach allows robust and accurate tracking andmanagement of equipment assets.

Once a data structure, including fields of interest and acceptableattributes, is specified, the legacy data (assuming legacy data existsfor the enterprise) is imported into this data structure. According toone embodiment, this legacy data can serve as the starting point for thesurvey process.

The use of the tag reader to input asset information has numerousadvantages over manual input. Tag reader-based input is faster, moreefficient, and more accurate than manual input of information.

According to another embodiment, the wireless tag-based system of thepresent invention provides accurate tracking of asset disposition. Thatis, the system and method of the present invention provides for trackingthe physical location of and any movement of an enterprise asset, suchthat all assets at a particular location can be monitored such thatmovement of any existing asset out of that location or any importationof a new asset into the location can be monitored. In one aspect of theinvention, the tag reader of the present invention can be an RFID portalthrough which all assets are transported into and out of an enterpriselocation. According to one embodiment, the tag reader 16 in FIG. 1 canbe an RFID portal. For example, a piece of equipment having an asset tagproviding the unique identifier A1 can be imported into a locationthrough an RFID portal that reads the tag and transmits the informationabout the importation of the piece of equipment into the location intothe asset tracking system. Further, if the piece of equipment is latertransported out of the location, it can be transported through theportal such that the movement of the asset out of the location isrecorded by the system. According to another embodiment, the movement ofthe asset can trigger the asset tracking system of the present inventionto transmit a message to an appropriate user. The message can prompt theuser to confirm that the transport of the asset is authorized.Alternatively, the message can inform the user that the asset is beingtransported to the user and requesting confirmation of receipt. In afurther alternative, the message can provide any appropriate informationrelating to the asset and/or its transport.

The tag reader, according to one embodiment, can utilize and providecertain information relating to the asset tags without utilizing itsconnection to the central processor of the system. More specifically,the tag reader can provide automatic alarms or notifications that aretriggered at the reader, not at the central processor or any other partof the system. According to one embodiment, the tag reader 16 in FIG. 1has an automatic alarm component 18. For example, in one embodiment,when an asset that is not authorized for removal is transported throughor past the tag reader, an audio and/or visual alarm associated with thetag reader is triggered by the tag reader. This occurs because the tagassociated with the asset includes information that the asset is not tobe removed from the site and the tag reader “reads” the information onthe tag and the alarm is automatically triggered by the tag.Alternatively, any information can be included in the tag that cantrigger an automatic alarm or any other known action at a tag reader forany known purpose.

The asset tracking of the present invention as described herein providesfor checking an asset in or out at a location or site. Further, thesystem allows for highly accurate equipment inventory tracking,including tracking unauthorized removal of equipment from a site. In oneembodiment, a tag can be associated with an asset (that is, the assetcan be “tagged”) by a manufacturer or supplier prior to delivering theasset to the location. In accordance with another embodiment, thewireless tag-based system of the present invention can be used to tracka mobile asset and its movement within a location. For example, thesystem can be used to track the movement of such equipment as a palletjack, a forklift, a rolling rack, or any other mobile piece ofequipment.

In accordance with an additional embodiment in which the system andmethod of the present invention relates to tracking and management ofrefrigerant for HVAC systems, the system and method provides forassociating a wireless tag with each refrigerant container. Each tag foreach container includes a unique identifier for each container, therebyallowing for monitoring the inventory of all such containers. Due to thenature of the industry, cylinders are often moved between therefrigerant supplier and the HVAC system operator and are often re-used.With the existing technology, each supplier and operator typicallyplaces a service tag or identifier on the cylinder upon periodicservicing or refilling of the cylinder such that the end-result ismultiple identifying marks on the cylinder. These multiple stickers ortags make it difficult to identify the single appropriate reference.With the wireless tag-based system of the present invention, visual IDreference is unnecessary when identifying and monitoring each cylinder.According to one embodiment, the wireless tag technology of the presentinvention can be utilized with the system and method of refrigeranttracking disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/429,619, filed on May5, 2003 and entitled “Refrigerant Loss Tracking and Repair,” whichissued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,512,523 on Mar. 31, 2009, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

According to another embodiment, the tags could also be used to track anasset that is shipped off-site for maintenance or repair, includingtracking the asset at the maintenance or repair location. In a furtherembodiment, the location information relating to any asset can beprovided by the system to a service provider to assist the provider inlocating the asset For example, the system can provide the serviceprovider with the specific site where the asset is located and furtherprovide the specific location of the asset at the site. In oneembodiment, the wireless tag-based system of the present invention canbe used with the system and method of tracking asset repair andmaintenance costs and monitoring asset servicing as disclosed in the'779 application which is incorporated herein.

In one aspect of the invention in which the system is used to trackrepair and maintenance costs and to monitor the servicing of assets, thesubject invention includes a system and method for managing theservicing and maintenance of assets by third-party service providers orin-house personnel. As shown in FIG. 3, the method generally comprisesgenerating a service request from a client computer (block 40),receiving a service request at the central processor 11 through the website (block 41), determining a service provider (block 42),automatically transmitting to the service provider the service requestand any additional asset information which may be needed by the serviceprovider, including the asset location information previously inputtedinto the system by the tag reader (block 43), and awaiting a response tothe service request (block 44). If no response is received within apredetermined period of time, the electronic message is resent (block43).

As shown in FIG. 4, a service request from a user will generate anelectronic work order 45 containing information such as the asset to berepaired, location of the asset site, location of the asset at the site,the reported problem, and the asset identifier. Typically, a servicerequest is initiated by enterprise employees located at a remote sitethrough the use of a client computer 12. In some instances, a particularasset may have self-diagnostic programs that can determine a malfunctionand generate an error signal. These assets may have asset interfaces 14interfaced thereto enabling them to generate service requestsautomatically through a client computer 12.

In one embodiment, an identification of authorized service personnel ismaintained in a database and linked to particular assets. Once a servicerequest is processed by the central processor 11, a service provider isdetermined automatically by determining which service provider is linkedto the particular asset and a particular geographic location, and theservice provider is notified automatically via an E-mail message orother form of electronic messaging. If the service provider does notrespond to an E-mail within a specified period of time, additionalE-mails may be sent automatically. The E-mail can include the type ofasset requiring service, the reported failure, location, contact person,and prior service history of the asset. In addition, the serviceprovider may also obtain additional information on the asset byaccessing the central processor 11 via the Internet or a kiosk 15.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the wirelesstag-based system and method of the present invention can be used totrack the service completion. In this embodiment, a tag can beassociated with the service provider technician such that the person'smovements can be tracked during the completion of the service request.More specifically, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, theservice technician passes through or by a tag reader such as an RFIDportal when the technician enters the site to complete the servicerequest. The RFID portal reads the information on the tag and therebyverifies the presence of the technician at the site. In a furtherembodiment, the system can not only verify the presence of thetechnician but can also confirm that the technician has authorization toenter the site and provide service to the asset needing service.Further, the system can be used to monitor the technician's movementswithin the site and also confirm the exit of the technician from thesite. According to one embodiment, the system 10 depicted in FIG. 1 hasa user tag 19.

After a service request is completed, information pertaining to therepair or maintenance of an asset may be gathered from service providersthrough the web site or through a client computer 12 or a kiosk 15 andstored in the database 13. In one example, the client computer 12 is anywireless handheld device. According to one embodiment, the system of thepresent invention allows the technician access to the client computer 12or kiosk 15 using the wireless tag technology. That is, a tag readerlocated at the client computer 12 or kiosk 15 reads the technician's tagwhen the technician is in appropriate proximity with the computer 12 orkiosk 15. The tag reader provides information stored in the tag to thesystem of the present invention and the system uses the informationabout the technician to determine if the technician has authorization toaccess the computer 12 or kiosk 15. If the technician has authorization,the system configures the computer 12 or kiosk 15 such that thetechnician can use it to input information about the repair ormaintenance into the system. In one example, the cost of replacementparts may be inventoried in the database of the system and the serviceprovider may choose, while at the remote location of the facility, thetype of replacement part that is used. The cost of this replacementpart, therefore, may be allocated to the asset that was repaired. Inaddition, the cost of the service charge may be ascertained based on thelength of the visit of the service provider and this cost of service maybe allocated to the repaired asset. The submission of informationrelating to the service provided can also be used to trigger payment forthe service.

Alternatively, after a service request is completed informationpertaining to the repair or maintenance of an asset can be written intothe asset tag associated with that asset. According to one embodiment,the system of the present invention allows the technician or anotheruser to utilize a wireless writing device such as a handheld RFIDwriting device to write information into the tag about the serviceperformed. The information can include the date of the service, thedetails of the service performed, the cost of the service, including anycosts for the service, including costs for replacement parts oradditional parts, and any other relevant information. Subsequently, thisinformation can be “read” by any tag reader, including, for example, awireless handheld tag reader used by a service provider or other userwho is scanning various assets to determine the last date of service ofeach asset or to determine other service-related or asset-relatedinformation. In one embodiment, the service information stored in thetag can also be read by a tag reader that then transmits or loads theinformation into the central processor.

Since the maintenance and repair costs as well as purchase pricecomprise a majority of the total cost of ownership of an asset, arelatively accurate calculation can be obtained by summing up the three.Other factors such as energy costs, performance costs, and other canalso be factored into the calculation if these factors are stored forthe particular asset. To calculate the total cost of ownership, thetotal costs for maintenance and repair and the purchase price for anasset or a group of assets is compiled using the filtering proceduresabove and the values are summed together. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, the calculation is pre-programmed into softwarelocated in the central processor 11 and the calculation is doneautomatically by simply selecting the function and inputting the assetidentifiers.

In a distributed business environment, assets may be distributed over alarge geographic region in a large number of separate facilities. Asshown in FIG. 5, to track these assets geographically, one embodimentincludes an application for creating a Geographic Information System(GIS) map locating a particular asset or a particular group of assets. Aset of queries 60 are displayed on a client processor 12 pertaining toan asset or group of assets such as a particular asset type and adesired location. The central processor 11 then generates a map 61 basedon the responses to these queries.

This embodiment can also include a mapping system displaying a singleenterprise facility. Icons representing certain types of assets may bedragged and dropped onto a GIS map of a particular facility in order todisplay the location of assets within a facility on a scaled map.According to an alternative embodiment, the tags of each asset can bemonitored wirelessly in order to determine the location of each asset ata site using a tag reader.

While the subject invention has been described with reference to severalembodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will recognize variouschanges that may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe claimed invention. Accordingly, this invention is not limited towhat is shown in the drawings and described in the specification butonly as indicated in the appended claims, nor is the claimed inventionlimited in applicability to one type of computer or computer network.Any numbering or ordering of elements in the following claims is merelyfor convenience and is not intended to suggest that the ordering of theelements of the claims has any particular significance other than thatotherwise expressed by the language of the claims.

1. A system for managing a plurality of assets and allowing a user toaccess asset information, the system comprising: (a) a central processoraccessible on a computer network; (b) a database for storing assetinformation for a plurality of assets, the database being incommunication with the central processor, wherein the asset informationcomprises at least information relating to location, ownership,maintenance and repair of the plurality of assets; (c) at least one tagreader in communication with the central processor, wherein each of theat least one tag readers is associated with one of a plurality ofdistributed sites; (d) an asset tag associated with each of theplurality of assets, each asset tag comprising at least a uniqueidentification for an asset with which the asset tag is associated, theasset tag configured to communicate with the tag reader; and (e)tracking software associated with the central processor, the trackingsoftware configured to track a location of each of the plurality ofassets.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the tracking software isconfigured to track movement of any of the plurality of assets into orout of any of the plurality of distributed sites based on informationcollected by the at least one tag reader from the asset tag of any assetbeing moved.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the tracking software isconfigured to update the asset information of any one of the pluralityof assets based on movement of the asset into or out of any of theplurality of distributed sites.
 4. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising notification software associated with the central processor,the notification software configured to transmit a notification messageto a user based on movement of an asset.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the notification software is configured to prompt the user toconfirm that the movement of the asset is authorized.
 6. The system ofclaim 4, wherein the notification message comprises informationregarding transport of the asset to the user, wherein the notificationsoftware is further configured to prompt the user to confirm receipt ofthe asset.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one tag readeris an RFID portal.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least onetag reader comprises an automatic alarm component, wherein the at leastone tag reader is configured to trigger the automatic alarm componentbased on any unauthorized movement of any one of the plurality ofassets.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the asset tags areconfigured to communicate with the tag reader wirelessly.
 10. The systemof claim 1, further comprising a client processor in communication withthe central processor through the computer network, wherein the clientprocessor is configured to allow the user to input, query, and downloadasset information from the central processor.
 11. A system for managinga plurality of assets of a plurality of distributed sites of anenterprise and allowing a user to access asset information, the systemcomprising: (a) a central processor accessible on a computer network;(b) a database for storing service provider information and assetinformation for the plurality of assets, the database being incommunication with the central processor, wherein the asset informationcomprises at least information relating to location, ownership,maintenance and repair of the plurality of assets; (c) at least one tagreader in communication with the central processor, wherein each of theat least one tag readers is associated with one of the plurality ofdistributed sites; (d) an asset tag associated with each of theplurality of assets, each asset tag comprising at least a unique assetidentification for an asset with which the asset tag is associated, theasset tag configured to communicate with the tag reader; and (e) a usertag associated with each of a plurality of users, wherein the pluralityof users comprise at least one service provider, each user tagcomprising at least a unique identification for a user with which theuser tag is associated, the user tag configured to communicate with thetag reader; (f) asset tracking software associated with the centralprocessor, the asset tracking software configured to track a location ofeach of the plurality of assets; and (g) user tracking softwareassociated with the central processor, the user tracking softwareconfigured to track a location of each of the plurality of users. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the user tracking software is configuredto track movement of any of the plurality of users into or out of any ofthe plurality of distributed sites based on information collected by theat least one tag reader from the user tag of any user.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the user is a service provider, and further whereinthe user tracking software is further configured to confirm the entranceor exit of the service provider at any one of the plurality ofdistributed sites.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the user trackingsoftware is further configured to confirm that the service provider isauthorized to enter any particular one of the plurality of distributedsites.
 15. The system of claim 13, further comprising access softwareconfigured to allow the service provider access to the system via aclient computer or kiosk based on the information communicated to thetag reader from the user tag of the service provider.
 16. The system ofclaim 11, further comprising notification software associated with thecentral processor, the notification software configured to transmit anotification message to a user based on movement of an asset.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein each of the asset tags are configured tocommunicate with the tag reader wirelessly.
 18. The system of claim 11,further comprising a client processor in communication with the centralprocessor through the computer network, wherein the client processor isconfigured to allow the user to input, query, and download assetinformation from the central processor.
 19. The system of claim 18,wherein the client processor is a kiosk.
 20. A system for managing aplurality of assets and allowing a user to access asset information, thesystem comprising: (a) a central processor accessible on a computernetwork; (b) a database for storing service provider information andasset information for the plurality of assets, the database being incommunication with the central processor, wherein the asset informationcomprises at least information relating to location, ownership,maintenance and repair of the plurality of assets; (c) at least one tagreader in communication with the central processor, wherein each of theat least one tag readers is associated with one of a plurality ofdistributed sites; (d) an asset tag associated with each of theplurality of assets, each asset tag comprising at least a unique assetidentification for an asset with which the asset tag is associated, theasset tag configured to communicate wirelessly with the tag reader; (e)a user tag associated with each of a plurality of users, wherein theplurality of users comprise at least one service provider, each user tagcomprising at least a unique identification for a user with which theuser tag is associated, the user tag configured to communicatewirelessly with the tag reader; (f) a client processor in communicationwith the central processor through the computer network, wherein theclient processor is configured to allow the user to input, query, anddownload asset information from the central processor; (g) assettracking software associated with the central processor, the assettracking software configured to track a location of each of theplurality of assets; (h) user tracking software associated with thecentral processor, the user tracking software configured to track alocation of each of the plurality of users; and (i) notificationsoftware associated with the central processor, the notificationsoftware configured to transmit a notification message to a user basedon movement of an asset.